Search results for "Management Science"
showing 10 items of 1017 documents
New exact methods for the time-invariant berth allocation and quay crane assignment problem
2019
Abstract Efficient management of operations in seaport container terminals has become a critical issue, due to the increase in maritime traffic and the strong competition between ports. In this paper we focus on two seaside operational problems: the Berth Allocation Problem and the Quay Crane Assignment Problem, which are considered in an integrated way. For the continuous BACAP problem with time-invariant crane assignment we propose a new mixed integer linear model in which the vessels can be moored at any position on the quay, not requiring any quay discretization. The model is enhanced by adding several families of valid inequalities. The resulting model is able to solve instances with u…
The berth allocation problem in terminals with irregular layouts
2019
As international trade thrives, terminals attempt to obtain higher revenue while coping with an increased complexity with regard to terminal management operations. One of the most prevalent problems such terminals face is the Berth Allocation Problem (BAP), which concerns allocating vessels to a set of berths and time slots while simultaneously minimizing objectives such as total stay time or total assignment cost. Complex layouts of real terminals introduce spatial constraints which limit the mooring and departure of vessels. Although significant research has been conducted regarding the BAP, these real-world restrictions have not been taken into account in a general way. The present work …
Asymmetry matters: Dynamic half-way points in bidirectional labeling for solving shortest path problems with resource constraints faster
2017
Abstract With their paper “Symmetry helps: Bounded bi-directional dynamic programming for the elementary shortest path problem with resource constraints” [Discrete Optimization 3, 2006, pp. 255–273] Righini and Salani introduced bounded bidirectional dynamic programming (DP) as an acceleration technique for solving variants of the shortest path problem with resource constraints (SPPRC). SPPRCs must be solved iteratively when vehicle routing and scheduling problems are tackled via Lagrangian relaxation or column-generation techniques. Righini and Salani and several subsequent works have shown that bounded bidirectional DP algorithms are often superior to their monodirectional counterparts, s…
Irregular packing problems: a review of mathematical models
2020
Abstract Irregular packing problems (also known as nesting problems) belong to the more general class of cutting and packing problems and consist of allocating a set of irregular and regular pieces to larger rectangular or irregular containers, while minimizing the waste of material or space. These problems combine the combinatorial hardness of cutting and packing problems with the computational difficulty of enforcing the geometric non-overlap and containment constraints. Unsurprisingly, nesting problems have been addressed, both in the scientific literature and in real-world applications, by means of heuristic and metaheuristic techniques. However, more recently a variety of mathematical …
Determining the best shipper sizes for sending products to customers
2014
A distribution company has to send products, packed into shippers, from the warehouse to retail shops. The number of different shipper types is regarded as a parameter given by the user, who is looking for a balance between transportation costs and stock and procurement costs. The problem is to decide the sizes of the shipper types to keep at the warehouse so as to minimize the cost of meeting the forecasted demand over the planning horizon. In this paper, we describe an integer linear programming formulation for the problem and obtaining feasible solutions. Other models, based on multiknapsack and p-median and facility location models, are for obtaining lower bounds. We study several ways …
Improved polyhedral descriptions and exact procedures for a broad class of uncapacitated p-hub median problems
2019
Abstract This work focuses on a broad class of uncapacitated p-hub median problems that includes non-stop services and setup costs for the network structures. In order to capture both the single and the multiple allocation patterns as well as any intermediate case of interest, we consider the so-called r-allocation pattern with r denoting the maximum number of hubs a terminal can be allocated to. We start by revisiting an optimization model recently proposed for the problem. For that model, we introduce several families of valid inequalities as well as optimality cuts. Moreover, we consider a relaxation of the model that contains several sets of set packing constraints. This motivates a pol…
Branch-and-price-and-cut for a service network design and hub location problem
2015
In the context of combined road-rail freight transport, we study the integrated tactical planning of hub locations and the design of a frequency service network. We consider a number of real-world constraints such as multiple transshipments of requests at hubs, transport time limits for requests, request splitting, and outsourcing possibilities. To our knowledge, the combination of problem features we deal with has not been described before. We present a path-based model and solve it with a branch-and-price-and-cut algorithm. Computational experiments show that large realistic instances from a major German rail freight company can be solved close to optimality within one hour on a standard …
The directed profitable rural postman problem with incompatibility constraints
2017
[EN] In this paper, we study a variant of the directed rural postman problem (RPP) where profits are asso- ciated with arcs to be served, and incompatibility constraints may exist between nodes and profitable arcs leaving them. If convenient, some of the incompatibilities can be removed provided that penalties are paid. The problem looks for a tour starting and ending at the depot that maximizes the difference between collected profits and total cost as sum of traveling costs and paid penalties, while satisfying remaining incompatibilities. The problem finds application in the domain of road transportation service, and in particular in the context of horizontal collaboration among carriers …
The periodic rural postman problem with irregular services on mixed graphs
2019
Abstract In this paper, we deal with an extension of the rural postman problem in which some links of a mixed graph must be traversed a given number of times over a time horizon. These links represent entities that must be serviced a specified number of times in some subsets of days (or periods) of the time horizon. The aim is to design a set of minimum-cost tours, one for each day/period of the time horizon, that satisfy the service requirements. We refer to this problem as the periodic rural postman problem with irregular services (PRPP–IS). Some practical applications of the problem can be found in road maintenance operations and road network surveillance, for example. In order to solve …
Competition and cooperation for intermodal container transhipment: A network optimization approach
2018
Abstract This study presents an analysis of cross-border competition and cooperation between ports in Bangladesh and India. Nepal and Bhutan are countries without access to seaports — two landlocked countries in South Asia, depending solely on the Indian port of Kolkata for their international seaborne trade. Alternatives do exist in the Bangladeshi ports of Chittagong and Mongla but these are not exploited, in spite of trade agreements that allow access to a third country's port, and/or crossing the land of a third, intermediate, country. We formulate a mixed integer linear programming optimization model to find the optimum economic benefit of port users (serving Bhutan, Nepal and Northeas…